More than 1,000 people attend Shabbat dinner

More than 1,000 people filled Carnegie Mellon’s Weigand Gymnasium last Friday night to… More than 1,000 people filled Carnegie Mellon’s Weigand Gymnasium last Friday night to celebrate the second annual Shabbat 1000.

Sponsored through the collaboration of Pitt and CMU organizations as well as Hillel Jewish University Center and Chabad House, the event drew more than 1,000 Jewish and non-Jewish students from Pitt, CMU, Carlow, Duquesne and Chatham, as well as community leaders.

Chani Weinstein, the administrator of the Shabbat 1000, said the event was created last year after hearing about the success that Binghamton University in New York and the University of Pennsylvania had.

“When we talked to them, they said don’t expect more than 300 or 400 people in the first year,” she said. “In the first year, we got 750. It was amazing.”

After realizing last year’s location, the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, wouldn’t be big enough to handle more people, the directors of the Chabad House set out to find a larger venue. According to Sarah Weinstein, co-director of the Chabad House, it was a challenge to keep the traditional atmosphere of a Shabbat dinner while accommodating so many people, “but it worked out great.”

Pitt sophomore Vicki Roffe agreed.

“It flowed extremely well,” she said. “You can tell that people put a lot of heart and spirit into it.”

Pitt junior Pam Eichenbaum felt that this event not only brought together the college Jewish community, but also people of other backgrounds as well.

“I think this helps the non-Jewish community as well,” she said. “I’m definitely very happy, and I think it helps unite other groups on campus.”

Freshman Lauren Granche, who is not Jewish, had similar feelings about the event.

“I felt like I was welcome and included,” she said. “Mrs. (Sarah) Weinstein kept coming up to me and made sure everything was all right. It made you feel like you were included, so basically for that night, you were Jewish.”

Also in attendance was Mayor Luke Ravenstahl. After giving a speech before the dinner, Ravenstahl said he was in awe of the turnout.

“I think it’s a very impressive tribute to the effort and attention of the Jewish community,” he said. “I’m honored to be here and be part of it.”

Dinner was a traditional three-course kosher meal consisting of herb-baked chicken, noodle kugel and gefilte fish, among other foods. Sarah Weinstein said that a lot of attention went into ensuring all the food they served was kosher. In preparation, CMU even brought in kosher ovens to handle the food.

“It’s always a challenge to plan,” she said. “We went to the Jewish Association on Aging’s head rabbi. He really exceeded normal expectations and went out of his way.”

Eichenbaum was also pleased with the results.

“It was very good,” she said. “Considering that it was cooked for 1,000 people, it was very commendable.”

While the dinner went to according to plan, Sarah Weinstein wasn’t always sure it was going to run as smoothly from the start. According to her, much of the funding from the Pitt Student Government Board was pulled from this year compared to last year.

“There was a misunderstanding of ideas,” Weinstein said. “But we pulled through, thanks to the Jewish community [and many other donors].”

According to Sarah Weinstein, the budget for the event was estimated to be more than $25,000. Her husband and fellow co-director of the Chabad House, Rabbi Shmuel Weinstein, feels that this event is great for bringing the community together and would like to see a bigger crowd for next year.

“I would like to say ‘Shabbat 1800’ next year,” he said. “If we raise the bar, we’ll find a way to raise the money.”